10 Sophisticated Interiors Devised by Michael S. Smith Inc.

Discover the work of designer Michael S. Smith, from a beautifully appointed Chicago penthouse to a 1920s boathouse on a Wisconsin estate

Although Michael S. Smith is celebrated for his ability to blend classic European style and American modernism, his approach centers on the people he’s designing for. “My inspiration is my clients and their vision,” California-based designer told AD in 2010. Clearly it’s a winning strategy, because among his loyal clients are Hollywood heavy-hitters, business titans, media personalities, and, perhaps most notably, the Obamas.

A painting by Peter Wegner surmounts a custom-made sofa in the screening area of talent agent Kevin Huvane’s Beverly Hills, California, mansion; the lamps are by Vaughan, the leather-clad wing chairs are by Jasper, and the Tabriz-style carpet is by Mansour.

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In the Manhattan apartment of comedian Ali Wentworth and journalist George Stephanopoulos, hand-painted chinoiserie wallpaper by Gracie forms a backdrop to the master suite’s Italian neoclassical bed, which is dressed in Nancy Koltes linens. “It’s rare that a person exceeds expectations, but Michael certainly did—creating an exceptionally warm, cultured, and beautiful home for my family,” Wentworth wrote in AD.

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Smith let the desert serve as his primary inspiration for a residence in Rancho Mirage, California. Acting as a counterpoint to the contemporary lines of the house, a 17th-century Italian gilt-wood mirror in the living area “takes things in a different direction,” noted Smith in April 2010, “and conveys an exuberant sense of history and architecture.” It is from Sotheby’s, as is the Chinese console.

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In the family room of this Chicago penthouse, the walls—sheathed in a John Robshaw fabric—display an Italian mirror and a Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph; the ceiling fixture is by Mathieu Lustrerie, and the sectional sofa, in a Jasper silk mohair, is by Jonas. “Chicagoans dress beautifully and love a good hamburger,” Smith told AD. “They’re worldly, but they never lose that hearty all-American sensibility. That’s what I tried to achieve in the house—a beautiful life without pretense.”

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“It’s critical that the bones of a house be organized and well planned,” Smith told AD in 2012. Here, a Palladio-inspired loggia off the living room of television director James Burrows’s hilltop home looks out over Los Angeles.

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Pine paneling and moss rock enrich the living room of a Big Sky, Montana, house. “I tried to give the house a connection to the land, but in a way that wasn’t too literal or specific,” Smith said. “A lot of vacation homes feel unlayered,” he adds, “as if they don’t belong to anyone in particular. My goal was to impart personality to the decor, so it feels like a living home rather than a place that gets closed up for a large part of the year.”

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For a 1920s boathouse on a Wisconsin estate, a client wanted both a guesthouse and “an intensely sophisticated man cave.” In the sunroom, a bespoke table by Blatt Billiards is grouped with a suite of Bielecky Brothers chairs; the hanging lantern is by Jamb, and the seat cushions are covered in a Rose Tarlow Melrose House fabric. “Even with the historical details, Michael brought a modern touch,” his client said. “I never felt like he was going to put us in a museum.”

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“We took a traditional house with good bones and made it more unexpected and multilayered,” Smith said of a Los Angeles residence he renovated for clients. A landscape by Thomas Barker hangs in the living room. Cowtan & Tout sofa check, solid lounge chair fabric and lounge chair, drapery and pillow floral.

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Smith set out to restore the Los Angeles home of director and producer Joe Roth and his wife, Irene, “to its most glamorous era,” he said. Once owned by legendary MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, “the house didn’t feel rich in the way that it should,” Smith explains. “It needed more evocative materials, to return to being a little bit more of a movie star.” To preserve the Deco spirit in the second-floor living room and throughout, he retained the banquettes and built-in cabinetry and chose furnishings from the period, including a Donald Deskey table.

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“We imagined a well-traveled Midwesterner who has lived in Italy and England but comes back to the U.S. and settles into a palazzo of sorts that’s also Georgian,” the homeowner, film producer Elizabeth Redleaf, said of the vision she and Smith had for her historic Minneapolis mansion. The master bath shimmers with antiqued-mirror panels and a ceiling silver-leafed by artisan Maureen Lyttle; the chandelier is a circa-1930 design by Elsa Schiaparelli for Baguès, and the tub fittings are by P. E. Guerin.

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“The idea is to incorporate the culture of the client and their family,” Smith told AD in 2010. “Most clients who come to me are really involved in the creative process of it.” In a young family’s Manhattan apartment, the living room includes a custom-made Jasper sofa, an artwork by Rebecca Horn, and a cabinet-on-stand designed by Ferruccio Laviani for Fratelli Boffi.

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For a beach house on Martha’s Vineyard, Smith said, “I wanted it to be, you know, a little bit Yankee, kind of bare-bones—not a white-linen-pants sort of place. Because that’s the vibe: The clients are not people who have luncheon parties.” Contrasting with the soft tones of the stone end walls of the enclosed porch are the mahogany-finished sofa, a pair of chairs, and an ottoman, all from Brown Jordan. Against the rear wall is a 19th-century pine armchair with a striped fabric from Ralph Lauren Home.

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A painting by Edgar Degas is set against a hand-painted wall covering by de Gournay in the master bedroom of this Manhattan apartment; the gilt-wood chairs are upholstered in a Fortuny cotton. While designing the home, Smith joined the wife on five trips to Paris and London. “We truly collaborated,” Smith said, “which is always the better way to work.”

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Pendant lights from Ann-Morris Antiques hang from the pressed-tin ceiling in the kitchen of this Montana ski house; the breakfast area is furnished with rod-back Windsor chairs, and the range is by Viking. “The vibe throughout the place is loungelike but tailored. We weren’t reaching for anything arch or improbable,” Smith said. “Most important, it feels right for this family.”

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“I get obsessed with all kinds of things: fern art, the Empress Josephine, all-natural SlimFast, Warhol drawings, Monticello, Paris apartments,” Smith said. “When I was outbid on a place in the Palais-Royal, I became obsessed with ‘Paris in New York.’” The Manhattan penthouse that Smith shares with the U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra, James Costos, brims with Francophile touches.